Only God Forgives (2013)

Only God Forgives Synopsis

Julian (Gosling), an American fugitive from justice, runs a boxing club in Bangkok as a front for his drug business.

His mother, the head of a vast criminal organization, arrives from the US to collect the body of her favorite son, Billy. Julianís brother has just been killed after having savagely murdered a young prostitute. Crazy with rage and thirsty for vengeance she demands the heads of the murderers from Julian.

But first, Julian must confront Chang, a mysterious retired policeman - and figurehead of a divine justice - who has resolved to scourge the corrupt underworld of brothels and fight clubs.

A new documentary that revolves around Nicholas Winding Refnís Only God Forgives - the follow-up to the hugely successful Drive - shines a light on the filmís troubled shoot. Directed by Refnís wife, Liv Corfixen, My Life Directed By Nicolas Winding Refn pulls no punches as it shows the Danish filmmaker struggling with the pressures of filming the gory thriller.

With four new wide-release entries in theaters this weekend audiences had plenty of options to choose from, but pickings were slim for the movies themselves as the competition lead to just real one box office winner.

This week we give you two reviews-- two!-- for the price of one, as we review both Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives and the sequel nobody really asked for, Red 2. Which is better? Who glowers better-- Bruce Willis or Ryan Gosling? Which one involves exploding toilets? Find out all about that and much more, plus your answers to our lightning question about moments of violence in movies that make us squeamish

Gosling plays the youngest son of a sadistic mother figure (played by campy ice by Kristin Scott Thomas), who is ordered on a mission of vengeance when a local crime boss (Vithaya Pansringarm) kills the womanís oldest child. Good premise, and one that Gosling and Refn easily could sink their teeth into, right?

To the shock of those of us forced to follow the French fest vicariously, the reviews out of Cannes were positively scathing with critics calling it "ultra-violent," "a drudging affair," and declaring it was the director's fame alone that allowed its entrance to the prestigious celebration of cinema. And they weren't alone in their disgust, as booing from the audience as well as walkouts of the film's screenings were reported.

The clip inside kind of sums up everything critics in Cannes have been saying about Refnís latest. Itís slow moving; itís dominated by Scott Thomas, who chews the scenery in the vile role of a vengeful mother; and it features a brooding Gosling doing very little Ö and very little different from what he did in Drive.

Only God Forgives, based on an original screenplay by Winding Refn, stars Ryan Gosling as Julian, a gangster and drug smuggler living in Bangkok who goes on the hunt for vengeance against his brother's killer. Kristin Scott Thomas co-stars as Julian's mother.

The clip kicks intohigh gear with the delicious tease, ďTime to meet the devil.Ē That slugline is featured on the filmís official teaser poster, which leans toward the visuals of Refnís new film but undersells the violence thatís a key component of this latest trailer.

Baz Luhrmannís The Great Gatsby will open this yearís fest. But thatís just the tip of the iceberg. A quick scan of the titles screening in Un Certain Regard reveals anticipated showings of Sofia Coppolaís The Bling Ring, Ryan Cooglerís Fruitvale Station, Claire Denisí Les Salauds, James Francoís As I Lay Dying and Hany Abu-Assadís Omar.

Ryan Gosling has reteamed with Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn for another movie that also appears to be tapping into Gosling's dark side. The red band trailer for Only God Forgives offers a side of violence and darkly lit rooms with an introduction to Gosling's Julian and his mother Jenna (Kristin Scott Thomas), a woman who doesn't understand her son...

Though we only get flashes of the new film in the teaser, the sense of menace it contains is clear between the tense music, disturbing imagery and the actors names over what appears to be a machete being raised for attack. Written by Refn, Only God Forgives centers on the conflict that arises between and American gangster (Gosling) and a Bangkok police lieutenant, a faceoff that will be settled in a Thai-boxing match.

Gosling stars as an American gangster who travels to Bangkok with his brother looking to expand the family business. But when the brothers run afoul of a murder investigation, they end up crossing an intimidating local cop called the Angel of Vengeance. Gosling's gangster and this local legend with finally face off in a no holds barred boxing match that's sure to be brutal.

Gosling stars as a crime boss's son who is looking to expand the breadth of their business to the Thai market. However, while exploring the possibilities abroad, he and his brother get involved in a murder investigation and thereby become entangled with a local police lieutenant known as the Angel of Vengeance. Their confrontation ultimately comes to a head in a treacherous Thai boxing arena. And from the looks of the image below, Gosling may well take a beating there.

If you're like me, you can barely wait another second for the next collaboration between Nicolas Winding-Refn and Ryan Gosling. Last year the director-actor duo blew both critics and audiences away with their neo-noir thriller Drive and, lucky for us, they've already agreed to make another title together: Only God Forgives. The film is already in production, with Kristin Scott Thomas signed on to co-star, and now the new project may have just found distribution.

For the past week or so I've been obsessing over one thing and one thing only: Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. After watching the film last Friday at the Los Angeles Film Festival (you can read my review right HERE), I've been talking about it non-stop, both with people who were at the screening with me (they are just as excited as I am) and those who weren't (who see my chatter as pure torture because they have to wait until September to see the movie).